Among the ruins covered with snow, the Ke County Library, which is only five stories high, occupies a large area and remained intact during the earthquake, stands out from the crowd.

Yang Wentao parked the car in front of the library square, and Cheng Suming unbuckled his seat belt: "Anan, you stay in the car, and the rest of you follow me in to check the building first. We will stay here only after we confirm it is safe."

Si Nan was unwilling: "You keep me in the car again. I've been in the car for almost a day. My legs are swollen and it's very uncomfortable. I want to get out and move around."

Cheng Suming was helpless and looked at Zheng Jian: "You are injured, just stay in the car and wait for us to come back."

Zheng Jian nodded: "Don't worry, I will keep an eye on the car and won't let the engine stop. I'll be ready to go at any time."

Si Nan took out two 30-liter small gasoline barrels from the space and placed them next to Zheng Jian, asking him to refuel at any time. She turned around and called Dahei to get out of the car with her.

Cheng Suming held her hurried body back and said, "Walk slowly, follow behind me, and let Dahei lead the way. If anything happens, we will have time to counterattack and retreat."

"You really treat Dahei as a tool dog." Si Nan followed him reluctantly and gave Dahei an order: "Dahei, you lead the way in front and pay attention to safety. If there is any danger, don't rush forward. Bark twice to remind us and let us handle it."

"Woof!" Dahei barked, and took the lead in walking forward with his black and white limbs.

The main door of the library had long disappeared. In the gradually darkening night, the wide entrance was pitch black. The cold wind blew heavy snow into the entrance, and thick snow piled up at the entrance, like the mouth of a monster with its bloody mouth wide open, waiting for its prey to come and die. It made people feel creepy.

Yang Wentao and Cheng Suming walked in front, Sheng Youqing and Sinan walked side by side behind, each of them holding a crossbow in their hands, carrying a backpack, with knives and iron rods tied to their waists and legs, and following behind Dahei with full vigilance.

After the five people and the dog entered, the first thing they saw was an extremely vast open area.

The Ke County Library is a little smaller than the municipal library. After entering, it is estimated that the area is no less than 900 square meters. After three years of natural disasters, the books and bookshelves inside have been tossed around beyond recognition. After waves of survivors looted them, almost all the usable and burnable books and bookshelves were burned. There is nothing inside except the messy waste paper and garbage on the ground. It is a bare expanse.

Because the power had been out for a long time, the light inside was dim and they couldn't see clearly what was going on inside. They took out flashlights from their bags and shone them inside. A large group of bats flew out, flew past them, and quickly flew back from the door and returned to their original position, which scared them all.

"Why are there so many bats in there?" Yang Wentao walked in front, holding up a flashlight and shining it upwards with a strange look on his face.

Sheng Youqing also held up a flashlight and shone it around, whispering to Sinan: "Xiaonan, why do I feel so scared? It feels like we are exploring a haunted house. It's dark inside and there are bats. I seem to hear some strange noises. Could there be ghosts in there?"

"You think too much." Si Nan shook his head with amusement: "It's already this time, how could there be ghosts? I'm not afraid of ghosts, I'm a staunch atheist, I will protect you when the time comes."

As soon as she finished speaking, Dahei suddenly stopped and started barking towards the north.

In the open area, Dahei's cries formed a three-dimensional echo, lingering in Sinan's ears.

Si Nan raised his eyebrows and thought, what’s going on, is there really a ghost?

Cheng Suming shone the flashlight in the direction of Daheijiao. In a corner about five or six hundred meters away from them, he could faintly see some shadows moving.

Cheng Suming pressed the flashlight to the brightest button, and the light suddenly became stronger. He could clearly see that the shadows were a group of people, but they were wrapped in a large piece of cloth that was nearly earth-brown in color and huddled in a corner. If he didn't look carefully, he couldn't see that there were people there.

Cheng Suming glanced at Yang Wentao, who immediately raised the crossbow in his hand and shouted at the group of people: "Are you villagers from nearby, or are you temporarily staying here? We have no ill intentions. We are just passing by and want to rest here for one night. We will not harm you."

Yang Wentao's voice was rough and loud, and coupled with his tall and strong physique, it undoubtedly gave the group an inexplicable deterrent effect.

Those people hid under a long piece of cloth, with only their eyes showing, watching them carefully, and there was no intention for the leader to come out and speak.

Yang Wentao turned around and looked at Cheng Suming, lowering his voice and asking, "Brother Cheng, what do you mean?"

Cheng Suming pushed up his glasses on the bridge of his nose and looked around with his narrow eyes. His glasses had night vision function, allowing him to see things clearly in the dark.

There were about fifty people hiding in that corner. They didn't seem to have any powerful weapons with them, and there were no other people hiding anywhere else.

He thought for a moment and said, "These people are hiding here in such a cold weather without making a fire or trying to communicate with us. I feel like they are hiding from someone or some wild animal. They pose no threat to us. Let's go upstairs and see if there is anything going on before making a decision."

"Don't go upstairs." Just as they were about to go upstairs, a strange woman's voice rang out: "We have already checked, there is no one upstairs."

Hearing that voice, Sheng Youqing and Si Nan shouted at the same time: "Gao Moli? Is that you!"

A thin, thinly dressed woman walked out from the corner. Who else could it be but Gao Moli?

"Gao Moli, it's really you!"

Sheng Youqing and Si Nan rushed over excitedly. Gao Moli was now skinny, with a pair of eyes that were almost out of their frames, and her skin was yellow and dull. She was wearing a dirty black cotton coat that was so big that it felt like wind was blowing in.

She used to be a woman who loved beauty the most, but now her hair is disheveled and her face is so dirty that it is covered with scabs. I don’t know how long it has been since she last took a shower.

Sheng Youqing couldn't help crying when she saw her like that. "Gao Moli, how much hardship and fatigue have you endured in the past three years to become like this... Why don't you come to us? Didn't Xiaonan tell you to come to Shishan Base to find us..."

Si Nan's eyes were red, and he carefully reached out to hold Gao Moli's hand, and asked softly: "Moli, why are you here?"

"It's a long story." Gao Moli couldn't stop crying when she saw two friends she hadn't seen for many years. She choked up and explained, "I escaped from Changji Base. The people in the corner all escaped with me from Changji Base. Changji Base claims that the welfare is better than other bases. It will distribute food for free and let everyone live in warm sheds. In fact, there is no way out. For those who enter, young women are forced to become tools for men to entertain, and men and old people become tools for work, working day and night until they are exhausted or die of illness. Many times, Changji Base will send people out to search for supplies, hunt, do publicity, etc. Those who go out are organized by the people of Changji Base. The convoy team is guarded with guns. Once they want to escape, they will be killed on the spot by their people. I escaped from Changji Base with this group of people when Changji Base was in chaos half a month ago. There are basically women and children who are powerless inside. We are worried that the people of Changji will come to catch us. We have been hiding from place to place and dare not make a fire at night, for fear of attracting wild animals and other people. We just came to this library yesterday."

Escaped half a month ago? Wasn't that when Cheng Suming took a helicopter to Changji Base to rescue him?

Sinan didn't know what to say. He felt both the joy of meeting his old friend and the sadness of his friend's bumpy fate. It was really fate that they had passed each other by in such a situation.

She patted Gao Moli's hand and said, "It's okay now. With us and Sheng Youqing here, no one will hurt you again."

Sheng Youqing nodded repeatedly: "Xiao Nan is right, Jasmine, come back to the Stone Mountain Base with us. No one dares to touch you in the Stone Mountain Base."

Gao Moli was silent for a while, then shook her head with tears in her eyes: "No, I won't go. My daughter and my parents are dead. There is nothing left in this world worth staying for. The reason I have held on until now is that I still have some unfinished business."

Sheng Youqing wanted to persuade her, but Si Nan heard something wrong in her words and wanted to ask her what was wrong. She waved at them, looking as if she didn't want to talk anymore, and shrank back into the corner.

Si Nan and Sheng Youqing looked at each other, and both saw the pain and helplessness in each other's eyes.

They had a lot to say to Gao Moli, but she didn't want to say much, nor did she want to go with them. They had no choice but to stand not far away and look at her.

"There's no problem upstairs." While they were talking to Gao Moli, Yang Wentao went upstairs to take a look. "The layout upstairs is similar to here, but the top two floors are divided into small study rooms. The doors of some rooms are still intact. If we encounter danger, we can hide in the rooms upstairs."

"Thank you for the trip." Cheng Suming glanced around the corner where Gao Moli was, and after making sure that they posed no major threat, he turned to the door and drove the SUV in.

Gao Moli's group would rather stay in the cold than make a fire in the temperature of minus 57 degrees Celsius, which made Cheng Suming wary. He parked the car in a corner without windows and called Yang Wentao. The two of them took the sacks given by Si Nan, filled several sacks of snow from outside and moved them in to block the side of the front of the car.

Then he lit a small brazier under the front of the car to prevent the oil inside from freezing. The accumulated snow and the location of the corner just blocked the view of the fire. From the outside, no shadow of the fire could be seen. In this way, if the situation was not right, they could drive away at any time.

After getting the car ready, Cheng Suming called back Si Nan and the other man who were still standing on the other side watching Gao Moli. The five of them gathered around the car. Cheng Suming said, "You have to be on duty tonight and stay alert at all times. Yang Wentao, you've been driving all day, Zheng Jian, you're injured, Sheng Youqing, you three go to sleep in the first half of the night, and Si Nan and I will guard the second half of the night."

Yang Wentao had no objection. He had been driving all day with great tension and was indeed physically and mentally exhausted and needed to rest.

He wrapped himself in the thick blanket that Sinan had taken out from the space hidden behind the car, wrapped himself like a bear, and leaned against the brazier at the front of the car, closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Zheng Jian and Sheng Youqing looked similar to him. Even if they had something on their minds and couldn't sleep, they would force themselves to close their eyes and go to sleep, otherwise they wouldn't have the energy to stay up all night.

Dahei lay beside the brazier under the front of the car and closed his eyes and fell asleep at Sinan's command.

The temperature dropped sharply at night. Si Nan took out two very thick fleece-lined warm clothes and a jacket from the space, secretly stuffed a few compressed biscuits, some small pieces of dried venison, and a chocolate bar to replenish his energy into his pocket, walked to another corner, and handed the clothes in his hand to Gao Moli under the vigilant gaze of a group of people.

"Jasmine, I brought two extra sets of clothes when I came out. Try them on. They will be much warmer."

Gao Moli reached out from under the cloth, took the clothes, and said thank you to her in a muffled voice.

She felt the heaviness of her clothes. She touched her pocket and felt what was inside. Tears welled up in her eyes again. She looked up and wanted to say something to Sinan, but Sinan had already turned and left.

Si Nan returned to the car. Cheng Su Ming stood by the open door and patted the seat with his hand: "You go to sleep first. I will be the only one keeping watch here."

Si Nan shook his head: "I'm fine, I'll keep watch with you. It's easy to get sleepy when you're alone, and the time won't be so hard to endure when two people are together and talking."

She insisted, and Cheng Suming did not object. He just asked her to take out a thick quilt from the space and cover her below her chest while she sat on the car seat and played with her mobile phone.

Every half an hour, he would go to the door to look at the wind, and through his night vision glasses to see if there were any wild animals or other people coming outside.

After making sure there was no danger, he came back and talked to Sinan in a low voice, occasionally adding some firewood to the brazier, and the time became less unbearable.

At about two o'clock in the middle of the night, Si Nan, who was used to going to bed early and getting up early, couldn't bear it anymore and yawned continuously.

"Go to sleep if you're tired. Don't force yourself." Cheng Suming touched her head and said, "I'll stay here for another hour and then wake up Yang Wentao and the others to sleep with you."

"The car is so cramped, why are you sleeping with me? Go sleep in a warmer corner near the brazier, and don't wake me up."

Sinan wrapped himself tightly in the quilt, lay down on the back seat like a silkworm cocoon, curled up into a ball and gradually fell asleep.

She was used to sleeping in a warm place at her home in Shishan Base, but suddenly she came to the wilderness covered with ice and snow. Even though there was a wall to shelter her and Cheng Suming had closed the car door, she was still shivering with cold. She was woken up by the cold less than an hour after she fell asleep, just in time for Cheng Suming to call Yang Wentao and others to get up and take over the shift.

Yang Wentao wrapped himself in a blanket, yawned and said, "It's damn cold. With my physique, I feel like my body is frozen into ice even when I sleep. I don't know how those people in the corner opposite us managed to survive without a fire."

Sheng Youqing stretched out his hands shiveringly and warmed them in the brazier under the front of the car. Feeling the temperature in his body gradually returning, he stood up and said, "I'll go see Gao Moli."

As soon as she stood up, Dahei, who was lying under the front of the car, also stood up, with his two pointed dog ears erect, as if listening to something.

Si Nan's eyelids twitched, and he made a gesture to Sheng Youqing to keep quiet.

Sheng Youqing paused and turned to look at Dahei.

Dahei's muscles were tense, his sharp fangs were bared, his whole body was crouched, and a low growl came from his throat, as if he was on guard against danger and ready to attack at any time.

"The behavior of Dahei is telling us that something is coming!" Cheng Suming said with a serious expression.

Sheng Youqing and the others were startled. They opened the car door, threw their bedding into the car, picked up their weapons, and looked towards the door with full alertness.

Si Nan quickly ran to the other corner where the group of people were and whispered, "Gao Moli, wake up! Something is coming!"

Gao Moli was awakened from her dream instantly. When the others heard this, they also woke up and asked in fear, "What is coming? Is it a human or a beast?"

"We don't know yet. You'd better grab your weapons and hide upstairs."

"Come with me, I will protect you." Si Nan held Gao Moli's wrist and pulled her away.

Gao Moli hesitated for a moment, but did not refuse and followed her to the SUV.

While people in another corner were running upstairs in panic, Cheng Suming, who was standing at the door looking out with a telescope, finally saw clearly what was coming.

It was a convoy of vehicles, two civilian off-road vehicles and three large trucks, driving very fast, completely ignoring the obstructed vision caused by the raging snowstorm at night, and also not fearing the danger of slippery ice and snow on the road, speeding at the fastest speed.

Behind them were pairs of green eyes, most of them were wild wolves, a few were wild, mixed in with jackals, leopards, hyenas and other extremely fast beasts, there were at least three hundred of them in total, and the formation was creepy enough.

"Damn it, where is this fearless convoy that has attracted so many wild wolves and beasts!" Yang Wentao, who was also observing the distance with a telescope, saw this scene and couldn't help cursing. He turned around and ran: "Get in the car! Get ready to run!"

Everyone ran to the car. Gao Moli was anxious: "What should we do with them?"

'They' refers to the people who escaped with her.

With so many people gathered here, those hungry wolves and beasts would rush in without hesitation when they smell the human scent and eat those who are hiding.

"I can't care about so many things now." Si Nan pushed her into the back seat of the car: "There are too many wild wolves and beasts coming. We can't contend with them! If we don't run now, we will have no chance! I only care about your life or death. The rest of you can only leave it to fate."

Gao Moli bit her lip, unable to bring herself to say whether she would take those people with her, or stay and live and die with them.

Everyone who has lived to this day understands that so-called kindness will only make oneself die faster.

Before the end of the world, Gao Moli's innocent heart might have made her do many unwise things, but now, after three years of natural disasters and all the darkness she has experienced, her heart has long been numbed and dulled.

Even though there was her savior among that group of people, and there were also people who had taken care of her and treated her well when she was sick, she could only take care of herself when facing a large group of wild wolves and beasts.

The off-road vehicle started moving, and Yang Wentao was still driving. The tank was full of gas. He stepped on the accelerator and rushed out of the library at the fastest speed, following the road he drove on during the day and leaving in the direction he came from.

The convoy behind probably didn't expect that there would be another car coming out of the library at this time and running ahead of them. It was obvious that the library was not safe either.

The leader took out a walkie-talkie and shouted, "Follow the car in front and let it lead the way for us to step on the mine!"

The wild wolves and beasts following the convoy behind were chasing them relentlessly and following them at a very fast speed.

But when passing by the library, many wild wolves and beasts stopped and sniffed towards the library entrance. Then a group of hyenas took the lead and ran in. Soon, screams were heard one after another in the library.

It was very dangerous to drive on the slippery roads in the wild on a night when blizzards and cold winds were raging. Yang Wentao turned the wipers to the maximum, but still couldn't clear away the large snowflakes that were falling on the windshield.

For the sake of safety, he had to slow down, but the consequence of slowing down was that the convoy behind caught up with him, followed by a pack of wolves and wild beasts running wildly behind the convoy.

Si Nan looked out the rear window at the convoy that was vaguely visible, chasing after him, and said with a dark face, "We can't go on like this. The convoy behind us is intentionally following us and dragging us down. If we don't find a way to shake them off, we'll easily get into an accident and be caught up by those wolves and beasts!"

"Then we'll make it impossible for them to follow us." Cheng Suming took out a pistol from his waist, loaded the bullet into the chamber, put on the hood of his down jacket, opened the car window, and leaned against the window in the howling cold wind. He aimed at a civilian off-road vehicle less than fifty meters behind them, and fired a shot, hitting the windshield of the vehicle, causing people behind to scream and slam on the brakes.

Cheng Suming was giving them a reminder to be tactful and not follow them, and to close the car windows after firing the gun.

The people in the cars behind were getting anxious. The driver of the lead car was a young man in his twenties. After braking, he looked up from the broken glass and yelled, "They have guns!"

"I saw it, I'm not blind!" A handsome man in his thirties with a long face wiped the blood on his left face from the broken glass and sneered, "Did you see clearly who was the shooter in front?"

The driver replied: "It was pitch dark, how could I see!"

There was a hint of sarcasm in the man's eyes: "That was the culprit who killed your brother Geng."

The driver's eyes widened. "It's him? Damn it! Kill him!"

He stepped on the accelerator and rushed forward regardless of anything.

The man slowly picked up the intercom and said, "The people in the car in front are from the Shishan base. One of them is the man who used thirty helicopters to rescue people at our Changji base. If I'm not mistaken, he is here, and the woman named Si Nan is also here. Brothers, it's time to avenge your brother Geng! By the way, take that woman back and give an explanation to our Changji boss!"

Voices came from the intercom one after another: "It's them?"

"Damn it, it's really a narrow road for enemies to cross. Now that we have met you, don't even think about escaping from our grasp!"

"We ran out of bullets when we were shooting at the group of wild wolves and beasts behind us. Be careful, they have guns."

"There are more than a hundred people in our team, and they are at most six people. We also have the leverage over that woman, so why should we be afraid of them?"

"Brothers, step on the gas, stop them, catch that woman, and kill the others without mercy!"

With the sound of accelerators, the cars behind all caught up as if they were injected with chicken blood.

The two off-road vehicles in the front followed Si Nan and his team closely, and the other two large trucks drove over quickly from the left and right sides, driving side by side with the vehicle where Si Nan and his team were.

The driver of one of the cars turned the steering wheel and rammed into their car.

Gao Moli, who was sitting in the back seat of the car, recognized the drivers of the vehicles on both sides and her face changed drastically: "They are from the Changji base!"